A few days ago
patrick o

What is the Greek origin of the ‘ae’ diphthong?

What is the Greek origin of the ‘ae’ diphthong?

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A few days ago
Anonymous

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Originally the diphthong ‘ae’ was written as αι (alpha iota) in Greek words. Classical Latin also used ai before the 2nd century BC. The letters were written separately until Late Latin combined them to make æ, and then eː (a simple long vowel sound). It was simplified later still to become plain e.

Because it was also used in other languages (Faroese, Icelandic, and other Scandinavian languages, Norse, Old English, Cyrillic) it has persisted.

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